"We were just a breath away from the Apocalypse". In Venice the water invades the Basilica and crypt

"We were just a breath away from the Apocalypse, a hair's breadth from the disaster." Pierpaolo Campostrini, the prosecutor of the Basilica of San Marco, told ANSA, telling what yesterday evening storm has brought to the church. "Exceeded the meter and 65 cm – he added – the water entered the basilica, flooded the floor and broke the windows and entered the crypt, flooding it. The thing is dangerous Not so much for the things contained in it, but because the water could have given static problems to the columns, that hold up the basilica ”.

"Fortunately, the staff acted quickly – continued Campostrini – and avoided worse physical damage, with our movable gates that were in any case overcome. Inside the basilica there are no visible damages, precious objects and vestments have been raised and secured. The invisible damage that is being evaluated, that of infiltration and rising water along the walls, remains. We are tired and angry ”.

VIDEO – The images from within

According to the first checks, the damage caused by high water to the Basilica of San Marco, an artistic masterpiece of Venice, could be very serious. The images show a dramatic situation: the crypt of the Basilica has been submerged and the artistic and cultural heritage inside it risks being damaged. The municipal police also learned that, at the time of peak tide (187 cm), about 110 centimeters of water was measured from the pavement. A phenomenon of these proportions had not occurred since 1966.

VIDEO – The images from above

The general secretary Mibact Salvo Nastasi announced that he had activated the crisis unit: "It is impossible at the moment to quantify the damage to the artistic heritage of Venice and in particular to San Marco, but the situation is extremely complex and worrying".

VIDEO – Touch 150 cm tip to Riva degli Schiavoni

“Minister Franceschini has been following the situation step by step since yesterday, the superintendents are at work and have made all their restorers available. While awaiting the evaluation, we are verifying all the Mibact expenditure items to take stock of the funds to be allocated to the Venetian artistic heritage ".

"Today for Venice and for the whole of Italy it is a terrible awakening. The historic center and the entire lagoon is ghostly, and the damage is enormous. Verification and securing of damaged cultural heritage is urgent. We immediately need a task force that has personnel, economic resources and adequate facilities available, "said the senators and senators of the 5 Star Movement in the Culture Commission in the Senate. Added to the damage caused by brackish water are those caused by the fire in Ca ’Pesaro, one of the most important modern art museums in the country, and the damage to the precious mosaics of Ca’ D’Oro and Palazzo Grimani.

There was no lack of controversy. The chairman of the Senate Public Works Committee, Mauro Coltorti (M5s) pointed out: "It is puzzling how we were caught unprepared, because while Venice drowns in the mud, the Mose uselessly lies at the bottom of the lagoon, waiting, perhaps one day, to be set in motion ”.

VIDEO – "We were just a breath away from the Apocalypse": the images from inside the Basilica

The oppositions requested the declaration of a state of emergency and the activation of a crisis unit in the shortest possible time. Regions such as Liguria and Lombardy have readily declared their willingness to intervene for any need. Further support comes from several Italian MEPs, such as the former President of the European Parliament, Antonio Tajani, who immediately went to work to verify all the European opportunities to support the territories affected by bad weather.

The government's response was not long in coming. The undersecretary to the presidency of the council Andrea Martella declared that the dramatic story is "directly followed by the government that will face it in the next CDM to evaluate the necessary and urgent interventions that protect the city, its lagoon and its inhabitants".